DiveController

And it still looks good!

The subtlety of the various liveries is still a process in evolution let alone introducing more fictitious liveries:o

John, something similar was done with the crowd-funding poll and not a lot of punters prepared to buy for sure. Many argued that thread was not that useful as it did not attempt to quantify how many of each loco people would buy, which is what Noel is trying to do here, I think. Many suggested starting with a small crowd-fuinded wagon as an alternative but I'm not sure that anyone has been willing/able to take that on. I think this thread has merit as it attempts to quantify the degree of interest in popular diesels. Some have declared it invalid as a market research tool and they may be right. However, no one has stated how SF or MM do their market research (I know no-one polled me). I am glad so many have taken the 5 minutes it takes to fill it out. However, I think we are dependent on the whim of one of two of the larger vendors of Irish outline as what comes on the market, if at all.

They're a great job, David. You've really outdone yourself with them

I think you hit the nail on the head. If you were to think of think of prototypical running would you really hear the loco more than 400ft away except the maybe the horn or on high rpm output when on a grade etc?

I think they look great, IT. Presumably they're resprays from the original Lima IE coaches?

Or maybe if there are problems with some of the coaches they do not want to get involved with the product. I had noticed that Hattons did not seem to stock the Mk2ds and their stocks of MM seem to be dwindling, so maybe Blaine is right. They are still listed as a stockist on MM website but that is also frequently out of date. Where is your info from Blaine?

Hi Noel, Basically you are just suggesting that the interface with the decoders needs to be improved from the current system which uses CVs and labels ( or lack thereof) which means little to the end-user, to a system which is more user-friendly. If you were to transition to a Bluetooth interface would you not just be changing the mechanism from a physical pulsed current through the rails to a radio telephony signal direct to the decoder? I can certainly see how that would be more convenient but unless you also wanted to move to battery driven locomotives you would still need something to power them, so effectively you would be moving back to 'DC' or some sort of alternating current but with no pulsed DCC signals within it. All rails and branches etc. live for current pick up. Would this be substantially better then the present DCC systems with programming on the main? I can see however that it would allow you to use common smart phones and tablets etc. rubbing having to invest in additional cabs. Personally I think Bluetooth can be a pretty fiddly technology also although version 3.0 is certainly better and faster. I am not saying I am against this technology I just think that an improved user interface for DCC would also help right now.

You're on a roll, Leslie. Go for it!

Would you like to post a pic of an 80 class so that we can see what you've got planned?

Any photos of a completed kit or rtr?

Did mine too a couple of minutes after you posted it! Good luck with it!!

Good afternoon, folks. Thanks very much to the several of you who all chipped in with advice. This has been very informative and definitely food for thought. I should have probably opened a separate thread when I asked the question. Certainly a great discussion and great advice. Thank you very much!

I agree with you both that I'd prefer 'ready to go' system to start with, while still on steep part of the learning curve. IT, what system do you have? I know Noel has the NCE. What do you think in the best DCC system out there purely on its merits (leaving cost aside for the moment). I'm slowly getting to the point where I need to think of getting one:trains:

Any idea how well this would work and what it could control? Most of us are not software programmers though.....

I was just a nipper but remember it. A nice momento, Dave!

Paudie, Can you PM me with the details. I'm looking for 187 and know someone who is looking for others

The advice from the members is good. Definitely get the book, work slowly, measure twice and cut once. I would say that if it's not perfect it will compund problems with gears etc later in the work. I would love one of these but not yet. I'm considering getting someone to build me the first one!

GFG, obviously we know from posts on the fora that this is area that Noel is interested in. The survey is not that long, response are not mandatory and if you wanted to post another one with your area of interest, I'd be happy to respond to that too (although I may have to look up J15s and J26s as I don't know as much about steam, but who knows, may develop an interest)

160KPH sounds high speed but is only 100mph in real money! Still hard to compete with the road

Always looking to the next generation of members!

Ok, thanks, IT. You can have automatic coupling/uncoupling of the loco from the Coaches under DCC control?

Hi IT, You may be right and the TCS decoder may have that function but presently I cannot reprogram CV29 and cannot check:facepalm: If it was DC compatible I wonder why to would have been turned off or why it would come with CV29 set to non-DC running as default The decoder is in a DMU with a function decoder in the dummy car. Neither works. They're hardwired, I think, so not easy to remove. Maybe it really just isn't just compatible? I'll try to check the TCS website again. Seller says it's not DC compatible and I think he's on the level

Amazing no ectrical problems in the moist conditions!

Great job by the boys in green!